Fluid brake



' March 24,1942.-

.1. c. FOSTER Erm. 2,277,096

FLUID 'BRAKE Filed April 7, 1941 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 m n Ku \n March 24,1942. 4.1, vc. FOSTER ET AL `2,277,096

" FLUID BRAKE FiledApril 7, 1941 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Mar. 24, 1942GFFICE FLUID BRAKE John Clyde Foster and John Henry Biggs, Odessa, Tex.

Application April 7, 1941, Serial No. 387,293

5 Claims. ((1188-99) This invention relates to braking devices land moreparticularly to a fluid brake.

An object of this invention is to provide a brake structure forconnection with a rotatable member, such yas a vehicle wheel. whereinthe rotation of the wheel or rotatable member provides the motive forcefor the braking fluid.

Another object of-this invention is to provide a fluid brake including ahousing with va plurality of reciprocating pistons therein, the housingbeing filled with a fluid, such as oil or the like, and the housinghaving a closed fluid path intercepted by a controlling valve forregulating the flow of the iiuid in said path.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fluid brake whereinthe braking action may be effected smoothly and positively and withoutany frictional contact between a stationary and a movable element.

A further object of this invention is to provide a fluid brake embodyinga minimum of parts so that structure is greatly simplified and may bestrongly constructed to withstand the strains to which the brake may besubjected.

A further object of this invention is to provide a brake structure ofthis kind wherein the strain on the wheel shaft may be evenlydistributed about the shaft as the brake is applied.

To the foregoing objects and to others which may hereinafter appear, theinvention consists of the novel construction, combination andarrangement of parts as will be more speci-cally referred to andillustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein are shown embodimentsof the invention,

but it is to be understood that changes, variations, f.

and modifications may be resorted to which fall within the scope of theinvention as claimed.

In the drawings:

Figure l is a detail side elevation of a fluid brake constructedaccording to an embodiment of this invention;

Figure 2 is a detail end elevation, partly broken away, of the brakewith the outer wall of the housing removed;

Figure 3 is a sectional View, taken on the line 3 3 of Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken on the line 4 4 of Figure 2;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary inner end elevation of the housing showing thecontrolling valve; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on theline 6 6 of Figure 2.

Referring to the drawings the numeral I designates generally a housingstructure which is adapted to be mounted on -a rotatable shaft II, theshaft II 4being rotatable with respect to the housing IIJ and thehousing I0 being normally stationary. The housing Il! includes acylindrical body I2 provided with ra rear wall or plate I3 having earsor flanges I4 by means of which the housing I0 may be fixedly secured toa wheel housing or the like so that the housing I 0 will be stationary.The body I2, at its outer or forward end, is provided with a cover plateI which may be secured to the body I0 .by suitable fastening devices I6or the like. The rear plate or cover I3 may also be secured to the bodyI2.

The body I2 is constructed in annularor cylindrical form and is providedwith a plurality of radially arranged inwardly projecting lugs I'I, I8,I9, 20, 2| and 22, on the interior thereof, there being six of theselugs which are equally spaced apart about the shaft II. The lug I'I hasdisposed therein .a uid cylinder 23 and the lugs I8 to 22 inclusive alsohave radially -arranged cylinders 24, 25, 26, 27 and 28 respectively. Apiston 29 is slidable in the cylinder 23 and is operatively connectedwith a ring 30 by means of a connecting rod or member 3 I. The outer endof the connecting rod 3l is pivotally connected as at 32 with the innerend of the piston 26. The ring30 is rotatably mounted on an annulareccentric 33 which is fixed to the shaft I I and preferablyanti-friction elements 34 are interposed between the ring 36 and theeccentric 33. A diametrically opposed piston 35 is slidable in thecylinder 26 and is operatively connected with a ring 36 mounted on theeccentric33 outwardly of the ring 36. The piston 35 is connected withthe ring 36 by means of a connecting rod 31 which is pivotally securedto the inner end of the piston 35 by means of a pin 33. The inner endsof the pistons 29 and 26 are bifurcated as shown at 39 and 40respectively and the outer portions of the connecting rods 3l :and 31are disposed between the bifurcations 39 and 4I) respectively.

A second eccentric 4I is fixed to the shaft II, inwardly from theeccentric 33, and a ring 42 is rotatably disposed about the eccentric 4Iand is connected with a piston 43 slidable in the cylinder 24 by meansof a connecting rod 44. The outer end portion of the connecting rod 44engages in the bifurcated inner end portion of the piston 43 beingpivotally secured to the piston 43 by means of a pin 45. The eccentric4I also has rotatably mounted thereon a second ring 46 which isconnected with a piston 41, slidable in the cylinder 21 by means of aconnecting rod 48. Anti-friction elements 46 and 50 Iare interposedbetween the rings 42 and 46 respectively, and the periphery of theeccentric 4I.

An outer eccentric 5I is xed to the shaft II and a ring 52 is mountedabout the eccentric 5I and is connected with a piston 53 slidable in thecylinder 25 by means of a connecting rod 54. A second ring 55 isrotatably mounted on the eccentric 5I and is connected with a piston 56which is slidable in the cylinder 28 by means of a` connecting rod 51.Anti-friction elements 58 and 59 are interposed between the rings 52 and55 and the periphery of the eccentric I. The two cylinders 53 and 58 arediametrically opposed with respect vto each other.

A spacing washer 6i) is interposed between the confronting faces of theouter eccentric 33 and the intermediate eccentric 4I and a secondspacing ring 6I is interposed between the eccentric 4I and the eccentric5I. An inner sealing ring or gasket 62 is disposed about the shaft I Iand is interposed between the inner eccentric 33 and the outer wall orplate I3. An outer sealing gasket or ring 83 is interposed between theouter eccentric 5I and the inner side of the outer Wall I5. The outerwall I5 may be provided with an annular boss 84 within which ananti-friction thrust bearing structure 85 is adapted to be mounted. Acover or plate BB may be detachably secured to the boss 6'4 and coversthe anti-friction bearing structure 65. The inner plate I3 is providedwith an annular boss 61 within which an anti-friction thrust bearingstructure 68 is mounted and the boss 81 is closed by means of aremovable cover or plate 69.

The body I2 is provided in the outer face thereof with an annular uidchannel or groove "ID and the inner face of the body I2 is also providedwith an annular fluid channel or groove TI. The body I2 is provided witha passage I2 which communicates the cylinder 23 with the fluid channel'II and the body I2 is also provided with a passage I3 whichcommunicates the cylinder 28 with the annular passage '18.

The cylinder 24 communicates with the annular passage 'I8 by means -of acommunicating passage 14 and the cylinder 28 also communicates with theannular passage I8 by means of a passage 'I5. The cylinder 25communicates with apassage II by means of a passage 18. cylinder 21communicates with the passage 'II by a passage Iii. The several radialcylinders 23 to 28 inclusive are closed at their outer ends by means ofplugs 'I8 so that these cylinders may be formed from the exterior of thebody I2 and subsequently plugged. The plugs in the outer ends of thecylinders also provide a means whereby these cylinders may subsequentlybe rebored and lapped, if such procedure is necessary.

In order to provide a means whereby the iiuid forced outwardly of theseveral pistons into the annular channels 78 and 'II may be regulated orcontrolled in its movement 'from these channels to a central reservoir19, we have provided a radially disposed opening 88 which communicatesat one end with the reservoir 19. there are two openings 88 and 889'which are spaced apart, being disposed closely adjacent the inner andouter ends of the body I2. These openings '80 and-8i!a are preferablydrilled through the body I2 from the exterior thereof and plugs 8|' and81a are threaded into the outer ends of the openings to close the same.

A rotatable valve plug 82 is rotatably disposed in a cylindrical opening83% which is formed in the body I2 inwardly from the annular channels'I0 and 1I. The valve plug 82 is provided with a transversely disposedopening 84 which, in one position of the plug 82 is adapted to registerwith the opening 88. The plug 82 is also provided with a secondtransversely disposed opening 85 which is adapted to register with theopening 883 at the same time that the opening 84 registers with theopening 80. The plug 82 is formed with an inclined laterally extendingpassage 8S which, at one end, communicates with the open- In practiceTheA ing 84 in the plug 82 and at the opposite end communicates with anopening 81 formed in the body I2 and which communicates with the annularchannel 18. The plug 82 is also formed with a second laterally extendingpassage88 which, at one end, communicates with the opening and at theopposite end communicates with an opening 89 formed in the body I2 andcommunicating with the annular channel I I. In this manner .thereservoir 19 may be placed in communication with the two annularchannels 'I0 and 1I to permit the free movement back and forth of thefiuid or, if the valve plug 82 is rotated to either an entirely closedposition or partly closed position, the ow of the liquid is either cutoff or partly restricted so as to thereby stop or retard the reciprocalmovement of the several radial pistons and simultaneously either stop orretard the rotation of the shaft II and the wheel connected therewith.The rvalve plug 82, atits outer end, is provided with a head 90 and anarm 9| is xed to the head 98 andis adapted to be connected to a suitablebrake operating pedal through conventional linkage or the like. A pin 92is kfixed relative to the head 90 and is movable between a pair of stopmembers 93 :and 94 which are fixed to the inner plate I3.

A spider 95 which is provided with a hub 98 is fixed, by means of a `setscrew 91, to the shaft I I. The spider 95 is adapted to be xed by meansof attaching bolts 98 to the vehicle wheel so that the spider 95 willrotate with the wheel and the shaft II will also rotate therewith.

In the use and operation of this brake structure the housing I0 isadapted to be fixed by suitable fastening devices engaging through theears or iianges I4 to the wheel housing or a stationary part associatedwith the vehicle. The spider 95 is adapted to be bolted or otherwisesecured to the wheel and the valve operating arm or lever 9I isconnected to a suitable pedal or brake operating structure. During thenormal operation of the vehicle the valve plug 82 will be in theposition shown in Figure 4 wherein the fluid from the reservoir 'I9 mayflow through the openings in the valve plug 82 into the outer annularchannels 'I8 and "II, The cylinders are arranged in opposed pairs andone cylinder of each pair communicates with one annular` channel wherethe other cylinder communicates with the other annular channel. Thevalveplug l82 provides a means common to both annular channels forestablishing communication between these channels and the inner fluidreservoir 19. In the event it is desired to operate the brake structurefor stopping or retarding rotation of the wheel connected with the shaftII', the valve plug 82 may be moved to the desired partly closed orentirely closed position. In a partly closed position the valve plug 82will restrict the-tfiow of the liquid from the channels I0 and 'II tothe reservoir I9 and thus retard the reciprocation of the severalpistons. In the event itis desired to apply the maximum brakingforce onthe shaft II the valve plug 82 may be moved to ,a completely closedposition, in which position the valve plug 82 will lock the liquid inthe channels I0 and 'II and also in the several pistons which are movingoutwardly at that time. The three eccentrics are disposed with the longradii .thereof substantially degrees apart so that When the brakingforce is applied to the shaft II .this force will be applied equallyabout the housing I2 and the shaft Il. As shown in Figure 2, the piston29 is at the limit of its outward movement so that the liquid in thecylinder 23 ahead of the piston 29 has already been forced into theannular channel 1|. The opposed piston 35 is at the limit of its inwardmovement and has drawn in the full capacity or quantity of liquid intothe cylinder 26 from the annular channel il). It will be obvious thatwhen the valve plug 82 is moved to either a partly or completely closedposition the outward movement of the liquid from the cylinder 23 will beeither retarded or completely cut oi and the inward movement of theliquid in the cylinder 26 will be either retarded or completely cut oil.At the same time that the piston 29 is at the limit of its outwardmovement, the piston 53 and the piston 41 are also at the limit of theiroutward movement and the piston 43 and piston 5B are at the limit oftheir inward movement in the same manner as the piston 35.

A brake structure constructed according to this invention will operateWithout any friction occurring between the stationary portion thereofand the rotatable portion and due to the simplicity of this brakestructure it will not readily get out of order and will be able towithstand the strains to which the device may be subjected.

What we claim is:

1. A iiuid brake comprisinga stationary body formed with an internal uidreservoir and a plurality of radially arranged cylinders, a rotatableshaft journalled in said housing, a plurality of eccentrics fixed tosaid shaft within said reservoir, a plurality of pistons slidable insaid cylinders, a pair of rings rotatable on each eccentric, meansconnecting one ring oi each pair to a piston, means connecting the otherring of each pair to a diametrically opposed piston, said body having apair of spaced apart annular channels disposed on opposite sides of saidpistons, said body also having openings communicating certain of saidcylinders with one of said channels and other openings communicating theremaining cylinders with the other of said channels, said body alsohaving means for communicating said channels with said reservoir, and amanually operable valve member engageable with said latter means forcontrolling the flow of fluid from said channels to said reservoir.

2. A uid brake comprising a stationary body formed With an internalfluid reservoir and a plurality of radially arranged cylinders, arotatable Shaft journalled in said housing, a plurality of eccentricsxed to said shaft within said reservoir, a plurality of pistons slidablein said cylinders, a pair of rings rotatable on each eccentric, meansconnecting one ring of each pair to a piston, means connecting the otherring of each pair t a diametrically opposed piston, said body having apair of spaced apart annular channels disposed on opposite sides of saidpistons, said body also having openings communieating certain of saidcylinders with one of said channels and other openings communicating theremaining cylinders with the other of said channels, said body having alongitudinal opening inwardly of said channels, a pair of inlet portscommunicating said reservoir with said longitudinal opening and a pairof outlet ports communicating the opposite end portions of saidlongitudinal opening with said channels, and a manually operable valveplug rotatable in said longitudinal opening for controlling the movementof fluid toward or from said reservoir.

3. A fluid brake comprising a stationary body formed with an internaluid reservoir and a plurality of radially arranged cylinders, arotatable shaft journalled in said housing, a plurality of eccentricsfixed to said shaft within said reservoir, a plurality of pistonsslidable in said cylinders, a pair of rings rotatable on each eccentric,means connecting one ring of each pair to a piston, means connecting theother ring of each pair to a diametrically opposed piston, said bodyhaving a pair of spaced apart annular channels disposed on oppositesides of said pistons, said body also have openings communieatingcertain of said cylinders with one of said channels and other openingscommunicating the remaining cylinders with the other of said channels,said body having a longitudinal opening inwardly of said channels, apair of inlet ports communicating said reservoir with said longitudinalopening and a pair of outlet ports communicating the opposite endportions of said longitudinal opening with said channels, and a manually-operable valve plug rotatable in said longitudinal opening and providedwith a pair of spaced openings selectively registerable with said inletand outlet ports for controlling the movement of fluid toward or fromsaid reservoir.

4. A uid brake comprising a stationary body formed with an internal uidreservoir and a plurality of radially arrangedcylinders, a rotatableshaft journalled in said housing, a plurality f of eccentrics xed tosaid shaft within said reservoir, a plurality of pistons slidable insaid cylinders, a pair of rings rotatable on each eccentric,anti-friction elements interposed between said rings and saideccentrics, means connecting one ring of each pair to a piston, meansconnecting the other ring of each pair to a diametrically opposedpiston, said body having a pair of spaced apart annular channelsdisposed on opposite sides of said pistons, said body also havingopenings -communicating certain of said cylinders with one of said'channels and other openings communicating the remaining cylinders withthe other of said channels, said body also having means forcommunicating said channels with said reservoir, and a manually operablevalve member engageablewith said latter means for controlling the i'lowof fluid from said channels to said reservoir.

5. A fluid brake comprising a stationary body vformed with an internalfluid reservoir and a plurality of radially arranged cylinders, arotatable shait journalled in said housing, a spider xed to said shaftexteriorly of said housing, means for attaching said spider to a wheel,a plurality of eccentrics xed to said shaft within said reservoir, aplurality of pistons slidable in said cylinders, a pair of ringsrotatable on each eccentric, means connecting One ring of each pair to apiston, means connecting the other ring of each pair to a diametricallyopposed piston, said body having a pair of spaced apart annular channelsdisposed on opposite sides of said pistons, said body also havingopenings communicating certain of said cylinders with one of saidchannels and other openings communicating the remaining cylinders withthe other of said channels, said body also having means forcommunicating said channels with said reservoir, and a manually operablevalve member engageable with said latter means for controlling the flowof fluid from said channels to said reservoir.

JOHN CLYDE FOSTER. JOHN HENRY BIGGS.

